Oak Park, MI- On Oct. 31, 2018 children dressed as ghosts, vampires, witches, super heroes, movie characters, werewolves, and other costumes will gather at the Oak Park community center for the annual Boo Bash celebration.

But no clowns will be allowed.

The ban was announced along with the event, leaving residents to wonder why. The Mayor had no idea about the ban when asked, but Recreation Director Laurie Stasiak shared the logic in an email Friday.

“This event is centered around young children,” Stasiak said. I”n the past few years many clown costumes have been given a very scary and evil look. Many scary and horror movies are centered around these types of characters. About 3 years [ago] there were national incidents in the news were people were dressing up as clowns and scaring people and in some cases assaulting them. Many people have phobias and anxiety about clowns. It’s because of this that we asked people not to dress up as clowns for this community event.”

Last year the Boo Bash had over 5,000 attendees, and in the past has had a clown present making balloon animals for the kids at events.

Oakland County Times has yet to find any other examples locally of bans. However, a 2016 Guardian article discussed the trend nationwide, making sure to throw in references to “clowning around,” “juggling,” and “red noses.” In 2016 The Desert News, based in Utah, ran a column about the ongoing rumor of creepy clowns, and how to talk to kids who hear about such rumors, which have been in circulation since at least the 1980s.

If you know of any other Michigan communities or schools with a similar ban, please email us with the link to the info at editor@oc115.com.

About the author

The Oakland County Times started with one city in 2009 and has grown to the community news hub you see today. Contact editor@oc115.com if you have any questions, comments, event listings, etc. Please support this work by becoming an advertising sponsor or check out our online community garden. Also happy to hear tips and story ideas.